How would you like an all-Wisconsin craft beer event? Well, southeast Wisconsin has one for you coming up pretty soon! The City of Glendale, in partnership with the Wisconsin Brewer’s Guild, will host the first Wisconsin Summer Solstice Beer Lovers Festival on Saturday, June 26, 2010 from 1 – 5 p.m. (rain or shine!) at the Bayshore Town Center (Bayshore Mall more-or-less). This is the first beer festival in Wisconsin to be all-Wisconsin breweries. 28 different breweries to be exact, and all 28 will have their brew masters there to answer any question you may have!
Admission is $50 a person or $90 for two tickets which includes a souvenir tasting glass and unlimited sampling of more than 100 different beers. This would be a good point to also share that a discounted ticket for designated drivers will be available for $20. This ticket includes Sprecher root beer, the same sampling glass, and all the complimentary food that’s included in the normal ticket price.
Sure, there will be plenty of beer here, but what about food? We’ll that’ll be covered too! Glendale is host to plenty of fantastic restaurants, many of which will feature specially prepared cuisine to compliment more than 20 different Wisconsin craft beers at the Summer Solstice Fest. A few of the different places to offer food are Auntie Anne’s, COA, Bd’s Mongolian Grill, Devon Seafood Grill, California Pizza Kitchen, Bar Louie, Ovations, Bravo!, Solly’s Grille, Anchorage, Zambonie’s, and the Bavarian Inn.
This event will certainly be an afternoon to remember! I’m personally excited to meet with all the brew masters and sample delicious food designed to pair with some tasty beer. Well worth the ticket price, you get to keep the sampling glass that will hold all the beer you can drink and your meal is covered. Where else can you get a deal like that?
Come on out Saturday June 26th from 1 – 5 P.M. and join me at the Bayshore Town Center directly east of I-43 on Port Washington Road and Silver Spring Road for some great conversation over some great Wisconsin beers!
For more information on the fest visit the links here:
Wine Cellar of Wisconsin doesn’t only have wine! They also have a great selection of craft beer and BeerFM will be attending a sure-to-please event this Saturday; Wine Cellar of Wisconsin‘s Beer Fest!
Sat., June 19th, 3:00 – 7:00: “BEER FEST” – $15.00/person (Club Members $10.00)
“Hop Heads everywhere, this one’s for you!! Milwaukee’s most exciting beer tasting of 2010, “BEER FEST” is a salute to craft brewers from around the world. Sample from over 75 brews, ranging from longtime favorites to completely new bottlings. Your $15.00 Admission includes unlimited samples (within the limits of responsible consumption, of course) and a FREE souvenir beer tasting glass. Explore the wonderful world of great beer, and celebrate Father’s Day weekend in true beer-lover style! NOTE: This event is limited to the first 125 registrants. Don’t miss out – call (262)754-9463 and sign up TODAY!!”
Come on out and join me for some good brews and conversation. I’ll be sampling the beer they’ve got to offer while browsing the nice selection of beer.
Wine Cellar of Wisconsin is located at: Autumn Grove Plaza 12910 W. Bluemound Road
Elm Grove, WI 53122
(262)754-9463
As you may know, Lakefront has released two new beers in 22 oz bomber bottles recently; Local Acre, a 100% Wisconsin beer, and Fixed Gear, their unfiltered red. They plan on increasing their 22 oz bottle selection soon with a bottle release of their Biere de Garde, Rendezvous. It was bottled today (June 10th, 2010) and is currently waiting on the labels so it’s gonna hit soon!
In the mean time, you can get this beer at the Locust Street Festival this Sunday at the Lakefront Stage between Booth and Pierce. The fest is held between Humboldt and Holton Streets from 11 A.M. until 8 P.M. and features 5 live music venues and a variety of food, artists, and vendors.
Keep your eyes peeled for Lakefront’s Rendezvous in stores soon!
On a recent trip to Ray’s for a Milwaukee Beer Co. tasting I had the pleasure of meeting two fine Ray’s employees, Roy and John. I talked to them about BeerFM and what I do briefly while they listened without giving the cold shoulder. We continued to talk and they started talking about a new thing Ray’s is going to promote; monthly beer tastings and education in a remodeled room upstairs. John asked if I wanted to take a look at it. Uh, YES!
We went up through the back way to the room which was still under construction. Let me tell you, this room, probably about half way done, already looked fantastic! Warm cream color walls allowed the premium Alder wood to be accented. It had a great natural beauty and elegance that works very well with the layout and design as well as the function.
At one end of the horizontal room stood a small but well-equipped bar with room for a flat screen and speakers to be mounted on the wall behind it. The bulk of the area will be filled with seating for roughly 50 to 60 from what I remember. All of it rests nicely on a beautiful hardwood floor.
Right now the focus of the room will be on wine but the beer education looks promising! Once a month beer education events will be held to teach people about particular styles of beer and will include a tasting. The events will be at a small price-point to weed out individuals only interested in free beer, a good move I think.
Details have not been released yet; however, two beer events have been booked so far. I’m excited to see what the final outcome of the room is and how it will be utilized. To find out more, visit Ray’s on 8930 W. North Avenue in Wauwatosa, WIor on the web at http://www.rayswine.com/. Also “Like” them on facebook to receive constant news and updates from them here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Rays-Wine-and-Spirits/106623892700157?ref=ts.
The Beer Barons of Milwaukee World of Beer Festival will be put on for its seventh year on Saturday June 5th. Held at the Schwabenhof Pavilion in Menomonee Falls, this festival for Milwaukee homebrewers and beer enthusiasts alike, can look forward to beers from such breweries as Founders, Bell’s, Dogfish Head, Three Floyds, North Coast and Wisconsin local favorites such as Lakefront, New Glarus, Tyranena, Central Waters and Furthermore. This promises to be an exciting event with various beers on cask, demonstrations in homebrewing, guest speakers and even a meadfest. The cost for general admission is $45 which includes a commemorative tasting glass and unlimited samples. You can also purchase a VIB ticket (Very Important Beer), for $65, which includes access to rare and limited release beers and a .5 liter tasting boot. This event will be held rain or shine, so I hope to see a good turn out to support a resurgence in the Milwaukee beer scene.
What are you doing to celebrate? I’ve got some suggestions for you:
Drink good beer.
Ok, maybe I should expand on that. You could start by advocating the consumption of craft beer to non-craft-drinking friends by nudging them into the world of good beer with something new to them but along the same lines. Some are stuck in the way of macro “beer” and have a hard time getting out so, for example, if they frequently drink Bud Light or Budweiser, maybe you can suggest Budweiser American Ale. It’ll start getting their toes wet in a world of better beer. From there you can move to beer like Leinenkugel’s or Samuel Adams and eventually open their eyes to a world of endless possibilities.
That’s just one idea. Beyond that, helping support local craft beer is never a bad thing. Visit local breweries and go on a tour, try new beers, or stop in to a brewpub! Share some good beer with a friend or have a small get-together to enjoy a tasting with multiple friends. All of these things will advocate craft beer and help the community.
Local events are being held constantly throughout the week too. Check American Craft Beer Week’s website and enter your state to see what’s going on around you!
We’ve got a few things going on here in Wisconsin you may want to look at.
What am I’m doing? I’ll be in California (for the first time!) on vacation with my girlfriend hitting as many spots for good beer as I can. Anchor tour reservations have been made far in advance and stops at Bootleggers, The Bruery, and Russian River are in order as well as plenty of other options. It should be a good time and I hope that everyone else enjoys American Craft Beer Week all over the country as much as I will be. Celebrate craft beer!
BeerFM has paired up with Silver Creek brewpub in Cedarburg, Wisconsin to bring you their Imperial Mai-Bock release!
Come join fellow Milwaukee beer enthusiasts at Silver Creek, the northern ‘burb’s premier brewpub! Enjoy Silver Creeks’ awesome house tap beers and nice guest tap list while getting to know other beer geeks in a relaxed, smoke free environment. Silver Creek taps are75¢ off when you order with a BeerFM business card in your hand! (Don’t worry, they’ll be handed out on location!)
Meet us at Silver Creek on Friday May 28th at 7 P.M.
Words cannot fully describe what really happens on Dark Lord Day.
Once a year in April, 3 Floyds Brewing Company hosts a legendary event called Dark Lord Day. On this day, is the world’s only opportunity to purchase bottles of a Russian Imperial Stout aptly called Dark Lord, which is basically a demonic Russian Style Imperial Stout, brewed with Intelligensia coffee, Mexican vanilla, and Indian sugar.
This is a big day for those who love this beer.
But just buying Dark Lord is really only an afterthought to what this day really means to beer advocates around the world.
Thousands upon thousands of people gather into this tiny industrial park where the brewery is located at in order to buy beer, trade beer, drink beer, share beer, talk about beer, and bask in the glory that which beer means to those who love it. It might be almost safe to say that there was actually more beer brought to this event by everyone than what 3 Floyds actually had in their warehouse! Yes, 3 Floyds Dark Lord Day celebrates the opportunity to enjoy Dark Lord, but in reality it is an overall celebration of what beer means to each individual.
Look at all the Beer!
Never before have I seen such an array of beer in such a tiny area before. Every picnic table in sight was absolutely covered with different beers from around the globe; Cans, bottles, and growlers of every beer imaginable everywhere you looked. Never before have I seen such generosity, friendliness, or camaraderie with strangers meeting strangers, or good friends hanging out together like it was yesterday. For the most part, for those who attended, everybody was everybody’s friend. All of this took place just because of a mutual love of beer. I could not even begin to tell you exactly how many beers I tried that day (easily 20-35), and I could not even start to thank all of the people who I shared them with.
I am in the green & white trucker hat. BeerFMAndy is right behind me!
Was it busy? Incredibly and overly so. Was it well organized? Not really. I am not going to sit here and write about what was wrong or unfair about this event because nothing is perfect. Despite all the ridiculousness that turned off many people from ever showing up to this again, I did not let what could have pissed me off ruin what an incredible day it really was.
Anyone who really truly enjoys and loves beer should go at least once, even if you do not get the opportunity to buy Dark Lord. It truly is an experience I may never forget.
“Chameleon Brewing, dedicated to creating innovative craft beers true to the American spirit, is a new brewery started by Randy Sprecher, founder of Sprecher Brewery. Crafted to please and tease a wide variety of palates, Chameleon beers are light in body, yet full of complex flavors and aromas.”
Chameleon Brewing is hosting a release party for their beers, Hop On Top, Fire Light, and Witty tomorrow, April 28th, at Bayshore Mall in Glendale, WI from 5:30-8:30. Here is what they have to say on their website calendar:
“Come join us for complimentary beer and food samples as we celebrate the launch of Chameleon Brewing! The event will be held at the rotunda, next to Bar Louie, at Bayshore Mall.”
It’s 10:45 p.m. as I write this on Dark Lord Day eve and the main thing going though my mind is how much of a pain-in-the-ass it’s gonna be tomorrow. Between waking up earlier than normal on a Saturday, trying to find parking when we get there, navigating thousands of people, all while getting drenched in rain, it sounds less fun the more I think of it. It also doesn’t help that I seemingly just came down with a sinus infection. Either that or it’s the effects of the overly smoky bar I was in last night.
Then that thought passes and I realize, this is THE Dark Lord Day. I was lucky enough to manage my way through the golden ticket disaster on top and I’m guarnteed an as-of-yet-undisclosed amount of the legendary beer.
And to top that off, I get to hang out at beergeek central where people are gathered from as far as parts of Canada.
It should be a great time and despite the nagging negative doubts in my head I’ll have a blast with all my fellow beer lovers.
And if nothing else it gives me 2 hours of drive-time to listen, nonstop, to the new Sevendust album, Cold Day Memory.
Giggity Goo.
- Andy
